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Wrinkles are an unfortunate fact of life once you have reached a certain age, and most people want nothing to do with them. There are tons of products on the market promising to smooth wrinkled skin, and some are a lot more effective than others. Some people will take more drastic measures to reduce wrinkles, like making an appointment with a dermatologist for botox, or other medical treatments. If that is not something that you desire to do, there are certainly more options on the market, like collagen, for people who prefer to go the natural route with their wrinkle treatment.
If you can see wrinkles showing up on your face, there is a huge chance that you, like many, are looking for a good remedy, or at least something that can slow down the aging process of the skin. Thankfully, collagen happens to be a very effective treatment for wrinkles, you just have to make sure that you use it right. There are collagen remedies for the skin that you need to ingest, and even skin remedies that come in the form of lotion and skin creams. So what combination works best? Do you need only topical or internal collagen? Is one more effective than the other? And how much do you even take?
What Causes Wrinkles?
One reason wrinkles develop is due to changes to the collagen production in the skin as we age. Young people have a lot of collagen in their skin, but the body produces less and less collagen the older we get, so older people don’t have nearly as much collagen. Collagen helps to form cells and keep them tightly together, and that function suffers when collagen production goes down. Collagen performs several important functions in the skin, and when it isn’t there to perform those functions at the same capacity, wrinkles develop. Replacing the lost collagen that the body no longer produces can keep wrinkles from developing at the normal rate.
How Does Collagen Affect the Skin?
The skin is made up of three main layers. That includes the epidermis, the dermis, and the subcutis. The epidermis is the outer layer of skin, the dermis is the middle layer, and the subcutis is the inner layer of skin. The collagen in our skin exists in the dermis. From the dermis, collagen supports every other part of our skin from the blood vessels, sweat glands, and hair follicles. All of these functions can be affected by the loss of collagen.
Collagen exists in the dermis in a criss cross pattern. It is kept together by a substance called collagenase, an enzyme that breaks down collagen in damaged tissue and prompts healthy tissue to grow in its place. This is what gives the skin strength and elasticity, and also what repairs the skin and heals wounds. As soon as you get a scrape, this process goes into effect until the collagen has repaired the damaged skin. New and healthy skin will take its place until the next cycle. Without as much collagen, skin loses its elasticity and takes longer to heal.
When there is less collagen in the skin, aside from losing elasticity, skin loses a lot of its moisture content. When the skin is a lot dryer, less elastic, and less firm, it is prone to developing wrinkles. When collagen is reintroduced at normal quantities, skin will gain back some of what it had lost and reach a healthier state. It takes a few weeks for collagen to take effect. A user should expect to see changes after about six weeks.
What Type Of Collagen Works Best On Wrinkles?
Every one of the 28 types of collagen has its own function, and to target wrinkles, you need to use the types of collagen that are best for skin. Type I and type III collagen work best for the skin, and therefore for wrinkles because they are the most concentrated. They are also most concentrated in the organs that affect the appearance of the skin. Using a combination of both types I and III collagen can lead to more improved outcomes than if you were to use them separately.
Type I collagen is one of the most important collagen types for the skin because it affects the connective tissue. The connective tissue is what holds your flesh firmly in place, and when the collagen in it decreases, drastic degeneration occurs to it over time. Type I collagen also makes up about 90% of the collagen in the body in general, so it is no surprise that it plays a big part in the skin’s functions. Type I collagen also makes up the blood vessel walls, something that has a big impact on the appearance of skin during the aging process.
While type I collagen affects the skin’s connective tissue, type III collagen can be found in high concentration in the skin’s dermis, and is primarily responsible for wrinkle formation. It is an extracellular matrix protein that decreases significantly as we age. When babies are born, their dermis is made up of over 50 percent type III collagen, but in aging people, type III collagen makes up only about 5 percent of the dermis. This significant decrease in type III collagen is what leads to wrinkle production. Replacing it can lead to a reversal of some of the worst signs of aging.
Should You Use Topical or Digestive Collagen for Wrinkles?
There are different ways to go about getting your collagen. You might find that you prefer to eat it, to mix it into drinks or use a collagen infused lotion. You can even use a combination of different methods if you find that it's what works best for you. When it comes to topical and digestive collagen, you can find many on the market, so aside from choosing your methods, you also have some choices to make when it comes to brands, types, and methods.
Topical Collagen
Topical collagen involves using creams and lotions that you rub directly onto the skin. Their goal is to address the skin wrinkles on the surface by having the products absorb into the skin. Topical collagen ointments include collagen in the form of peptides. You can find face creams, body lotions, and lip serums that include it. It improves hydration in the skin and improves its elasticity. And though topical collagen has been shown to be somewhat effective, it doesn’t work as well as digestive collagen since digestive collagen addresses the lack of collagen in the body. It is best to use topical collagen for added skin benefits on top of your supplement regimen.
Injectable Collagen
Injectable collagen goes a little deeper than topical collagen and is a bit more invasive. This is the type of collagen that you need to make an appointment with a dermatologist to get. Collagen injections will smooth lines, add volume, and add plumpness. This also happens to be the most expensive collagen form that you can use for your skin. Depending on who you go to, injecting collagen can cost you a few hundred dollars or a few thousand.
Digestive Collagen
The most commonly taken form of digestive collagen is collagen powder, also known as collagen peptides. This powder is made to be mixed into drinks and foods, and it blends in seamlessly unless you don’t want it to. There is flavored and unflavored collagen on the market, and you can experiment to find out what most suits your needs. You might find that you prefer plain collagen so you don’t taste it in your smoothie, or you might want to go with flavored collagen so you can use it to add flavor to your foods. You have the option to buy caramel collagen, cocoa collagen like Dr. Emil’s, lemon ginger collagen, and so much more.
Another form of digestive collagen are collagen capsules. Collagen capsules are simple to use. All you will need to do is take the capsules with a glass of water and be on your way. These are convenient for people who want to do even less work than mixing collagen into food. You can find these capsules at most grocery and drug stores.
How to Add Collagen to Your Diet
One way to ingest collagen is to eat collagen filled foods. You might already be aware of what foods contain vitamins B, C, and A, but what foods contain collagen is not something that is often talked about. Collagen rich foods will have a great effect when combined with collagen supplements, and they can even be effective on their own if you aren’t yet in need of that much collagen.
Foods that are high in collagen include meats first and foremost as a lot of collagen is found in protein. Collagen is usually derived from meat products like beef, chicken, and fish, so going to the source often can bring you lots of benefits. The best source of food collagen is meat broth. When meat bones are simmered for long periods of time, the collagen escapes and fills the liquid it sits in. You end up with a thick liquid with prominent bits of gelatin. This gelatin contains lots of collagen, which is why you can now find single serving bone broth in many grocery stores.
Another high protein food that contains a good amount of collagen are egg whites. Eggs are often included in the ingredients for making collagen supplements. Other foods that contain collagen include nuts, avocados, broccoli, spirulina, beans, leafy greens, and more. These foods contain collagen in much lower quantities than protein rich foods do, but if you eat an abundance of these foods on a regular basis, you will be sure to enrich your body with the collagen that it needs, especially when you add a topical or dietary supplement to the mix.
How Much Collagen Do You Need Per Day?
When taking collagen to treat wrinkles, you need to make sure that you get just the right amount. Using too much can end up being an issue, and using too little likely won’t earn you the results you are looking for. Making sure that you know just the right amount to take will save you money and frustration down the line. Taking collagen to treat wrinkles requires a different dosage than if you were taking it to heal another issue like joint pain.
To properly treat wrinkles, you need anywhere from 2.5 to 5 grams of collagen per day. Whether you choose to go with the lower end or the higher end is up to you, but collagen won’t be too effective for wrinkles under 2.5 grams and won’t provide much more benefit above 5 grams. As long as you stay within that range, you should get the kind of results that you are looking for.
Sometimes the dosage of collagen that you need to take can depend on the brand. Each container of collagen will provide some information about how much of it you should be taking, and it is a good idea to pay attention to them unless you find different information from a reputable source, or if your doctor tells you otherwise. Though since it is not easy to harm yourself from using too much collagen, your biggest risk is using too little collagen and not getting the results you want.
Collagen is a protein that can reduce or prevent wrinkle production as long as you know just how to use it. And since collagen isn’t a complicated supplement to get the hang of, as long as you know the basic facts and follow the steps, you can be well on your way to smooth, youthful skin within weeks.
